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Jeffrey City Elementary School principal Kathleen Hitt, far left, delivered 150 children's books this month to Jeffrey City students Brandon Smith, 5, and Laura Dockery, 9, and their teacher Lara Burke. The gift was from the Wyoming Education Association board and staff. Photo by Katie Roenigk

WEA donates 150 books to Jeffrey City school

Dec 28, 2012 - By Katie Roenigk, Staff Writer

Wyoming Education Association employees and board members each give at least one book to the annual cause.

Jeffrey City Elementary School's two enrolled students will have plenty to read this year after receiving a holiday gift from the Wyoming Education Association board and staff.

Principal Kathleen Hitt delivered 150 children's books to the school Friday on behalf of the WEA board, which has been making the annual donation for years throughout the state.

"We decided to pick a region of the state every year to give books to," said Hitt, who also sits on the WEA board. "This year we chose the northwest region, so I said I knew of a school."

WEA employees and board members each contributed at least one book, she said. The group met last week in Laramie, when they compiled their collection.

"They knew this was a K-5 building, so they picked out some things that would be appropriate," Hitt said.

Jeffrey City students Laura Dockery, 9, and Brandon Smith, 5, said the gift made them feel special.

When Hitt arrived to drop off the pile of books, they immediately picked out a few to start reading.

Smith zeroed in on a book about sharks, flipping through the pages and stopping every once in a while to examine a particular species. Dockery started with "The School Bus Driver from the Black Lagoon," then picked up a collection of jokes.

"What does the basketball team eat for breakfast?" she asked. "Dunkin' donuts!"

Teacher Lara Burke sat down with the students to read a story together before lunch time.

"This is a neat opportunity," she said, pointing to a couple of bookshelves in the corner. "We have a small library, and a lot of the books are getting old."

As he surveyed the new assortment, Smith said, "This is our library now!"

He and Dockery counted up the gifts, stacking them into piles of 10, then tallying those until they reached the total of 150 books.

The Jeffrey City school is part of Fremont County School District 1. After fifth grade, Jeffrey City students are bused to Lander to attend school there.